The Brave, The Strong, The Scarred
by lunahai
Summary: Alex Grey. She's not entirley human,and far from normal. After being saved by the Elrics from death by 'Hunters'-a cult devoted to killing chimeras-she joins them on their travels. Ed/OC Manga based, mature chapters later
1. The Brave May Not Live Long

The trained seemed to crawl down the tracks, moving as slowly and unenthusiastically as everything else in the hot empty desert. On boared, Edward and Alphonse Elric sat in silence, Edward asleep and Alphonse staring out the window. They had been on many a train rides but this was seemed particuarly boring. The Elrics had been sent on a particuarly boring inspection, and were going to stop at the next station, spend the night somehwere, and get back on a train to Central. It seemed to take forever, but finially they reached a stop.  
"Brother, wake up, we're here," Edward felt himself being shook awake, and groggily rose from his sleep. Half awake, they got off the nearly deserted train and onto the platform, also deserted.  
"Geesh," said Ed, no longer groggy. "Talk about a ghost town,"  
"Mabey there's some kind of event going on today," suggested Alphonse.

Ed walked forward worlessley, into the town. They wandered silently through the city for a good five minutes, not seeing one single person.  
_Mabey it's some kind of joke...?_ wondered Ed.

"Brother, look!" Al said suddenly, pointing down a street into what seemed to be the courtyard of the town.  
Everyone in the town seemed to be gathered there, in the middle on a stage, a guy in blue military pants and a grey T-shirt was walking back and forth, speaking into a microphone. There was a pole in the middle of the stage, pesumably with speakers on it to project the microphones sounds. Behind him were two more 'soldiers'. Between them stood a shorter person, mabey a kid. They were too far away to hear what was being said, but Ed got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Alex Grey moved on her knees, shifting her weight and trying to ease the painfull throb that had gathered under the balls of her knees, product of being slammed into the concrete floor of one of the many ware houses that filled the space in this oh so empty town, and staying in the same positiosince then. This made the guards holding her clench her arms tighter. She winced inwardly, but kept her face like stone, staring defiantly into the ground. She knew she'd have no one come save her, no one comfort her. She wasn't accustomed to it anywyas. She had grown up without a mother, and her father, a livid martial arts expert, had a peculiar way of showing affection; he trained her.

He trained her hard, so from her very core, she was a fighter. She had to be, becuase soemone, someday, would find out what she was. Her father had repeated that to her so many times...Perfect, he'd say. Better than a human, the best fighter, the most refined beast, the human weapon.And in a twisted way, that had been good for her. She knew what to work for. Who cares that she wasnt normal, if she could be strong, she's be loved. But her father had gotten sick, very sick, very fast, and she had lost him.

He had warned her of the people who would come after her. Hunters. A cult of people who were devoted to undoing the 'plague of alchmy' from the world. They specialized in killin chimeras, and would very likeley end up coming after her one day. She was prepared. After her father died,she had come to this painfully small but nearly empty city to hide. But as she'd always feared, she had been found. And after playing cat and mouse for so long, she'd been caught.

As the Elrics wandered through the small, quiet townn, Edwards bad feeling got worse and worse. There empty ware houses here, and not a lot of people.

_What is this?_ He wondered.

He heard a sound- a grunt, someone being hit- from one. In the eery quiet of the deserted town, it was loud. Alphonse heard it too, and they both ran to the still open side door of the ware house, quietly, as years of hard life had taught them to,

Two men, dressed in all black and masked, stood in the shadows of the unlit warehouse. A sole window through a shaft of light on a third figure. There was a person in between the two men, and as Edward squinted in the darkness, he was person was a girl that could have been no older tha he was, on her knees, being held by two guards.Her hands were tied behind her, and she was pretty roughed up. Her face, tan, and angular, was briused, her lips had been busted in several places, she had a cut above her left eyebrow that had only just stopped bleeding. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders and her grey eyes glared into the air in front of her.  
"Brother!" Al whispered in shock.  
The man standing in the light's voice, although quiet, filled the air.  
"Who is your creator?" he asked, so quietly is was almost a whisper.

The girl slowly raised her head and hissed, "Go to hell,"

The man seemed unaffected... untill he lifted his right foot and swiftly kicked her with no hesiation in he ribs. He gruned again, unable to dodge the kick due to her guards. He jerked foreward but made no other move.  
Edward couldn't just watch this- he jerked forward. This had to stop. Now.

"I might kill you quickly, if you cooperate with us. It's not an offer I usually give to abominations such as yourself, you should jump on the oppertunity. Why do you fight us so? Why do you cling to this idea of bravery you've fabricated?"

Huffing in pain, the girl barked, "The brave dont always life long, but the cowardly never truely live,"

He pulled a gun from a sling on the back of his pants as she winced, her fear seeming to physically hurt her. He pointed the gun, leveling it at her head. For a moment she stared down the barrel of the gun, and as if residing to her fate, dropped her gaze down to her feet and cosed her eyes.  
Unknown to her, Edward began his stransmutation.

The cement in front of her shot up blocking the bullet. She stared in awe. What had just...

She looked up to see a large armoured man throw both of the Hunters next to her to the ground.

"Who are you?" she choked.

The man looked down at her.

"Alphonse, Alphonse Elric. That man over there is my brother. Youre safe now,"


	2. Escape

_**RECAP**_

"I might kill you quickly, if you cooperate with us. It's not an offer I usually give to abominations such as yourself, you should jump on the opportunity. Why do you fight us so? Why do you cling to this idea of bravery you've fabricated?"

Huffing in pain, the girl barked, "The brave don't always life long, but the cowardly never truly live,"

He pulled a gun from a sling on the back of his pants as she winced, her fear seeming to physically hurt her. He pointed the gun, leveling it at her head. For a moment she stared down the barrel of the gun, and as if residing to her fate, dropped her gaze down to her feet and cosed her eyes.  
Unknown to her, Edward began his transmutation.

The cement in front of her shot up blocking the bullet. She stared in awe. What had just...

She looked up to see a large armoured man throw both of the Hunters next to her to the ground.

"Who are you?" she choked.

The man looked down at her.

"Alphonse, Alphonse Elric. That man over there is my brother. You're safe now,"

_**END RECAP**_

For a second, Alex almost believed him. Then she saw the quick glint of light on metal flying through the air, and her wits returned.

Edward glanced at the girls direction just in time to see her spring from her knees and come flying at him. Her shoulders rammed into his gut and knocked him back before he could. In almost slow motion, on his way down, he saw a blade come whizzing by his face, twisting and cutting into the air his head had occupied not even a second ago. Then he slammed back on the cement, the girl falling with him, landing on his chest. Her hands were still tied behind her, but she lifted herself of him with no trouble. She was glaring at the door the knife had come flying through for a few seconds before saying, "They always leave a guard,"

"Shouldn't we go after him?!" asked Al urgently. She shook her head. "Don't bother. They'll be back," She began struggling to untie the ropes behind her. She had gotten one of the many knots loose when Ed circled behind her, clapped his hands, and chemically severed the ropes. She tensed at his touched, but didn't pull away. After the light from the transmutation had faded and the ropes had fallen to the ground, she pulled her wrists in front of her, rubbing the red, bruised flesh. Now he finally got a good look at her. She was around his age, he could tell from her face, but short, about his height, he realized. He wondered why. She was wearing torn, ratty jeans, combat boots and a black tank top. She had black fingerless gloves on each hand and a white bandage around the bicep of her left arm with a red splotch in it, tell tale sign of a reopened wound. She was curvy, wide hips and shoulders, thin waist. Her hair, dull, and with specks of dried blood in it, fell to the middle of her back, a crimp in it where she would usually have a ponytail, he recognized from his own hair, and Winry's after she took it down after having it tied for a long time.

"Who are these guys, why were they trying to kill you?" questioned Ed. As he peered into the darkness, he saw two, maybe three lumps in the shadows. He knew from experience in the area they were bodies. Unconscious or dead, he couldn't tell for sure, but he had a feeling which. The girl, still staring at and massaging her wrists, answered, "They're called Hunters.They're a cult, religious fanatics. Their mission is to... they hunt and kill c- certain people," She seemed to be choosing her words carefully, either trying not to give too much away, or not knowing how to explain it.

In her strangely calm, unnerved voice, he noticed a hint of hesitation. "They kill what?" he asked, holding her in his gaze. She looked up at him and returned the stare. "You can't tell what I am, Mr. Alchemist?" she asked, almost in a challenging voice. She grabbed the wrist of his left hand and with no hesitation, pressed it to the warm flesh of her chest, in the middle of her collar bone, just barely above the swell of her ample breasts. He felt her heart beating under her skin, but felt something else pulsing inside of her. Something only an alchemist would since, and something he had sensed once before, right after he had become a state alchemist...

"You're a chimera," It wasn't a question. She pushed his hand down. He couldn't believe it. She looked so human... But he had felt it, and knew without a doubt. She was a chimera, human and beast, perfectly melded together. "How..?" he began, but was interrupted by a loud **PSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH **Thick gray smoke filled the air, rising from each of the bodies on the floor. The smoke filled Ed's lungs instantly, choking him. He coughed and hacked. It was burning his chest!

"Run! Get out of here!" he heard a female voice ordering him, a voice he still had no name for. The world around him was turning black very fast. He hacked and tried to bring air to his lungs, the darkness grew, creeping up on him... he felt his knees hit the ground... the darkness was complete...

Alex hacked and wheezed, trying not to breathe in the poison. Damn!! She knew the were all carrying the wicked devices, why hadn't she ran when she should have! The gas bombs went off if the body they were attached to didn't move for more then four minutes, or if other bombs went of near it. It was a final attack mechanism on anyone who killed a Hunter, she knew this, why hadn't she ran!?

She saw the one with the blond hair fall. He must be sensitive to the poisons they used to make this stuff. She ran to him, throwing one of his arms around her and pushing herself up. God he was heavy! She felt metal, hard and cold, where his right arm should have been. She dismissed the thought for later. She struggled to step foreward, but she could barely breathe herself, and the room was spinning. The armored man- Alphonse, Alphonse Elric- appeared in front of her, wordlessly sweeping both her and his brother in his arms and running for the door, Smashed between his metal chest plate and his brothers body, she felt herself slipping as the gas bombs took affect, and struggled to stay awake, but between the exhaustion she had been fighting all day, the poison, and the rhythmic step of the armoured man's running, she couldn't help it... she passed out, her face falling into the blonde's- Edward, she remembered, Edward Elric- chest. She breathed in his scent, suddenly overwhelming in their closeness, and knew she'd never be able to forget it, and her last thought before succumbing to the darkness was that she really didn't want to.

Al didn't stop running until he was at least three miles away from the ware house, at the train station once again. A bucket of water from a leaking pipe sat against the wall, a rhythmic _plp lpl plp _from the water droplets falling into it the only noise in the deserted station. Why were there no people here- no doctors?!

He layed his brother and the girl down next to each other, and panicked, did the only thing he could think to do, he threw the water on the both of them.

For a second there was no reaction. For a terrible, terrible, moment, there was only the stillness of their bodies next to each other, and he felt panic rising from his very core, ready to overtake him. The girls eyebrows furred, wrinkling the tanned skin of her brow. She coughed, and pushed herself up, rubbing water off her face and breathing deeply. Al was on her in a second, "Is he going to be okay?" he demanded, pointing at Ed's still unmoving body. She nodded, coughing into her fist. "He''l be-" cough cough cough- "- he'll be fine, he just needs-" wheeze cough cough cough- "he just needs sleep," she choked. AL realized how tightly he was squeezing her arms and released her. He waited until her breathing returned to normal before apologizing.

"It's fine," she said, looking over at Ed. "I don't blame you,"

She scooted back until she was leaning against the wall. She undid the bandage around her arm and ripped a piece off, dabbing at the blood from the cut above her eyebrow. The actual wound was small, it had just bled heavily. Her lips looked better already. "You must have questions,"

Her question startled Al, he hadn't been expecting it, he had been watching Edward for sign of recovery. "I do, if you don't mind,"

"I'll answer what I can," she said, staring into space as she cleaned herself and nursed her wounds. Al mentally prepared himself.

"All right. First question; What's your name?"

The barest hint of a smile crossed her face as she answered, "Alex. Alex Grey,"


	3. Loyalty Transaction

She scooted back untill she was leaning against the wall. She undid the bandage around her arm and ripped apeice off, dabbing at the blood from the cut above her eyebrow. The actua wound was small, it had just bled heavily. Her lips looked better already. "You must have questions,"

Her question starlted Al, he hadn't been expecting it, he had been watching Edward for sign of recovey. "I do, if you don't mind,"

"I'll answer what I can," she said, staring into space as she cleaned herself and nursed her wounds. Al mentally prepared himself.

"Allright. First question; What's your name?"

The barest hint of a smile crossed her face as she answered, "Alex. Alex Grey,"

END RECAP

Edward could hear voices around him, but try as he may, he couldn't wake himself up. There was some kind of barrier he just couldn't get through that kept him aware, but not awake. He was alone in the darkness, alive for sure, but partially unconsious. The voices were the only stimuli he had, and he lathced onto them.

He listened, focusing his only connection to the world of the living.

"Alex, Alex Grey," So her name was Alex. He told himself to remeber it,

"How did you become a chimera?" Al asked her. Ed was anxious to hear the answer. If only he could wake!

There was a pause.

"I don't know. I've been this way as long as I can remember. My father didn't consider it tainted, or broken, he thought he had helped me... evolved me," He heard her shift. "It was all I ever knew, so, I guess I agreed with him,"

"Where's your father now?" Al asked.

"Dead. He got sick. It was a long time ago," she said, her voice stoic and cold.

"How old are you? How are you living by yourself?"

"My father had a lot of money saved. He was a very skilled alchemist, and many scientific universities paid him to teach. I know all his passwords and such to his bank account,"

Edward noticed she didn't answer the age question.

"So where are you going after this?" asked Al.

"I don't really know. My main focus right now is not getting killed. I thought about maybe going to the military for help-"

at this, Ed wanted to yell, No! Dont go NEAR the military! You'll be a test subject you idiot! -

"but I figure if they do believe me, I'll end up as a test subject at worse, or a foster child at best. I'm not really into cages, so I plan on avoiding both of those lives,"

There was a ring to that Ed liked.

_I'm not really into cages, so I plan on avoiding both of those lives,_

"There's probably people who would try to turn me human, or Hunters, who would purge 'trash like me' from the world. Again, I avoid that,"

There was another pause.

"This may be a little awkward-" Al started, she cut him off, "There are no akward questions with me. Just those I can asnwer and those I can't,"

Edward heard the metal clinking that was Al nodding.

"What's in you? What were you combined with?"

"A dog," she answered with no hesitation.

Ed's heart skipped a beat as memories pulsed through him.

Nina. Tucker. Scar.

He heard knuckles cracking, assumed it was Alex. He felt himself drawing closer and closer to conciousness.

"Alphonse," Alex said. Edward heard Al answer, "yes?"

"I... I don't really know how to say this... I owe you two a large debt. You saved my life. Any prolonged exposure to that gas would've cost you yours. I'd like... I'd like the oppertunity to return the favor. Help you in any way I can,"

"I.. I can't ask anything of you- unless, well do you know anything about a thing called the Philosephors Stone?"

Edward's stomach fluttered as he waited for a responce.

"... I've heard of it. Some Kind of catalyst of alchemic power. I know it's the kind of thing the Hunters would like to purge from the world... They'll come after you two, you know,"

Ed had been expecting that. All this was happenng very quickly, and part of him wanted to step back, so no way, your lying, your human! But he knew deep inside something very important happened when they stumbled upon this person called Alex Grey.

Edward had never believed in any God or Fate, never followed foolish beliefs like Destiny. But he could'nt deny he didn't want to lose Alex. For some reason, he felt like it was vital they kept her near. And if she was offering to stay around...

"I think he needs CPR," Alex said, inturrupting his thoughts. "He mut have the gas still in his lungs, he should've woken up by now,"

He hear movement, and felt shockingly cold hands on his face. They weren't Al's. Had her hands been so cold in the warehouse? Next to the warmth that had radiated from her chest, he hadn't noticed.

Those ice cold fingers tipped his chin back, and pushed his mouth open. She pinched his nose shut, and he felt warm, but scarred lips push against his, and air blew into his lungs.

She breathed into him twice, and then he felt the heel of her fist oush down on his chest. Something in him stirred, he was waking back up, his body was reviving. Again, she breathed into him, and this time his eyes snapped open. She felt him jump as he woke, and rose up, staring down at him. She trailed a finger in front of his face and he instinctivley followed it with his eyes.

"He's fine,"

Ed pushed himself into a sitting position. His cheeks were tingling where her hands had been, his lips felt... weird.

"Have you heard anything we said, brother?" asked Al.

He nodded. "Most of it, actually,"

Alex looked at him.

"You know then. What I am?"

He nodded.

"You take it rather well," she pointed at his arm. "I guess you would. I mean, he's empty, isn't he?" Edward tensed.

"How'd you know?"

"I didnt smell anything in that armour. No sweat, nothing. No human body does that,"

Ed looked down. There secret was pretty much out. They might as well explain, she was going to be with them, hopefully, for a while.

"Why are you after the Stone?" she asked, almost gently.

The entire explentaion took under 10 minutes. She sat quietly, nodding, occasionally aksing a question, as Ed and Al talked her through their childhood. Their father left. Their mother died. They immeresed themselves in alchemy, underwent extremem training, and eventually, tried to revive their mother, and failed. The result stood before her. They paused several times, as if waiting for her to scream or run. They had obvilously never realized there were other monsters out there.

"You said the Hunters would come for us," Ed asked. She nodded. They would. The one that got away would put them on a hit list, right next to her.

"You want to come with us?" It wasnt entirely a question.

She nodded.

"You realize the kind of life we live. The dangers we'll undergo?"

She nodded again.

She stood.

"I'll stay with you, Edward and Alphonse Elric. To gaurd, to serve, to protect. Untill every last Hunter is gone, untill you have all you need, or die trying. My loyalty lies with you, if you'll have it,"

She held a hand out.

Al and Ed exchanged glances.

Ed grasped her hand.


	4. the private thoughts of Edward Elric

_One Month Later_

_It was amazing how quickly Alex's presence became a part of my life- our life._

_I expected it to be akward at first. She had said so herself- she was there to serve._

_And as much as my morals were against this- I was going through my own servitude, after all- there was never any regret in it. I never felt any guilt when she demonstrated her obidience, her loyalty._

_ She was always there, walking a few feet behind me and Al, silently observing, the crowd, the the city, us- occasionally putting her two cents in, letting me know when she thought there was danger or when we were doing something we shouldn't. _

_Her personality seemed fit for the life she had chosen to lead._

_She was quiet. Our first encounter was downright talkative compared to her usual behavior. _

_When she chose to speak, she did so brizkly, quietly. After 2 weeks I swear I could pick her voice up a mile away._

_She was constantly observing. Her gray eyes were always sharp and aware. _

_And she was stoic. Her emotions rarely showed through, and when they did, it was through a quick change in her face, a flicker in her eyes, a change in her posture. You had to read her, watch her, study her, or you'd see nothing at all._

_As time went by, I noticed a change in our relationship. _

_To Al, she seemed more like a friend, someone who'd be there, to joke, exchange stories, and more often than not, due to her stoic silence, to listen._

_It was towards me that it seemed she gave her servitude. It was my orders she'd follow, my command she waited for. And while his at first threw me off, insulteme almost, now it seemed as natural as breathing, her always being there, in my shadow, a guard dog, no pun intended._

_Her strength was astounding. I'm no stranger to martial arts, in fact I'm damn good. But she... she was unreal. Her movements were fluid and lightening fast, deadly effective. She was by all means, a human weapon, and she was completley devoted to me. She was my weapon. _

_It fascinates me still how natural her movements, even when I couldn't see them, seemed like an extension of my will, my unspoken command._

_I had to wonder, was I drunk on the power?_

_Power she had given me? _

_Or the fact that with her behind me, we were that much closer to our goal? _

_That much closer... to the Stone?_

-Edward Elric


	5. First Travel

Izumi Curtis wiped her knife across her apron, leaving a smeared red stain on the white fabric.

"Mason!" she called. "Come in here!" A moment later the tall, burky young man she employed stumbled into the cutting room. Izumi grabbed a large section of the meat abd began slicing the fat from it.

"Yes, Mrs. Curtis?" he asked, holding a large brown sack over his broad shoulders. "Run down to Sullivens for me and by some more wax paper, we're almost out of it and I need to wrap this meat soon,"

"Yes ma'am," he said with a nod, and as he turned to leave, tripped over his feet and intorduced his forehead to the wall. The sack slid off his shoulders and landed with a thud on the floor. Izumi shook her head. "Don't dent my walls, Mason," she said, as stern as always but with a joking edge to her voice. Mason rubbed his now red forehead and winced. "Yes ma'am,"

Mason walked out of Sullivens with 4 rolls of wax paper under his right arm. He was halfway down the street when he realized that 4 wouldn't cover the shipment they were expecting next week. He turned on his heel to go back to the grocery store. Out of the corner of his eye, he could've swore he saw a familiar red flash, but when he turned to look, there was nothing.

_Hm,_ he thought to himself. _Must be feeling nostalgic for the little guy, _Then he stopped in his tracks. Leaning against the wall of Sullivens grocery store was a girl he had never seen before, and Mason considered himself a proffesional female observer. She had black long hair, tied back, a deep tan, amd huge melons- and not the kind you could buy from Sullivens. He grinned, squared his shoulders and began to cross the street to go talk to her. A car went by and he stepped back.

"What's this?" he muttured to himself. One of the town scum bugs was movin in on his woman. He grabbed her arm and leaned down, speaking right next to her face. Whatevr it was he said, she didn't like it very much, and before the poor fool to could do anything, her foot got real freindly with his gut. She held onto the wrist of hthe arm that held her, so when he fell back, he slammed into the wall. She pulled his arm again, sending him face first to the side walk, then calmy returned to her leaning against the wall pose.

Mason shuddered. Great, a miniature Mrs. Curtis. If she was an alchemist he was going to- FREAK OUT! Edward Elric walked out of Sulllivens! Mason ran across the now clear street.

"Edward! Edward Elric!" he called. Ed turned to face him and his face lit up with recognition.

"Mason!" Edward said in greeting. Alex watched as Ed and Al greeted this strange man. Judging by his face, he was in his mid-twenties, but he was built like a boulder. He was a hulking mass of muscle, friendly enough, and he seemed to know the Elrics. Ed shook hands with Mason. "Alphonse?" Mason asked, looking up at Al. "Eh... yes," Al said nervously. _He doesn't know about them,_ Alex thought to herself. "Wow," Mason said, looking Alphonse up and down. "You've sertainly hit a growth spurt, kid,"

"Is Izumi in town?" Ed asked. Alex remembered from the train ride over that Izumi was the one that trained the Elrics, taught them alchemy and martial arts.  
"She is, actually," Mason answered, "I bet she'd love to see you! C'mon, I'll take you to the shop," Ed began to follow him, and Alex moved with them, taking her usual place behind them, when Ed stopped, "Oh, Mason, I almost forogot!" He turned and gestured at Alex. "This is Alex Grey, she's a good friend of ours," Mason looked her up and down and said, "Nice to meet ya," as he extended a hand to her. She shook it breifly.

As Mason led them down the familiar streets towards the Curtis's shop, he couldn't help but think about the girl the Elrics had picked up. _Izumi's gonna get a real kick out of this,_ he thought, and chuckled to himself.


	6. First Travel prt II & Honor Roll

RECAP

"Is Izumi in town?" Ed asked. Alex remembered from the train ride over that Izumi was the one that trained the Elrics, taught them alchemy and martial arts.  
"She is, actually," Mason answered, "I bet she'd love to see you! C'mon, I'll take you to the shop," Ed began to follow him, and Alex moved with them, taking her usual place behind them, when Ed stopped, "Oh, Mason, I almost forogot!" He turned and gestured at Alex. "This is Alex Grey, she's a good friend of ours," Mason looked her up and down and said, "Nice to meet ya," as he extended a hand to her. She shook it breifly.

As Mason led them down the familiar streets towards the Curtis's shop, he couldn't help but think about the girl the Elrics had picked up. _Izumi's gonna get a real kick out of this,_ he thought, and chuckled to himself.

Sig was the first one to see Mason returning with a crowd of people- of three was indeed a crowd. He was sweeping leaves from the front of the shop when he was them.

He recognized the small form of Edward Elric, but the young woman behind him and the armored man next to him wer strangers. He wondered where Alphonse had gone to, and what kind of relationship he had with the girl. He remebered Edward as not being very romantically interested, but a lot of time had passed, and the girl was fairly attractive. Unfortunatly for Ed, if the girl was his girlfriend, she was about to see him in a very unflatering position. Izumi was none too thrilled about Edward's choice of career, and the rumors that had reached her had added fuel to the fire.

Through the window, he saw a flash of white cotton that he recognized as Izumi's jacket and knew she had seen them too, and that she intended to... _greet_ them at the door. Sig moved first.

"Sig, nice to see you again," Edward said a little nervously. Sig nodded in recognition. Best not to get too emotionally attatched to the victem to be.

He turned to look at the armored man. "You are..?"

"Em... it's me, Alphonse," Sig blinked. Talk about growth spurt. He reached up and patted Alphonse on the head affectionatly. He was a good kid.

He tunred to the girl. She stared up at him in a similar expression to the one he usually wore- unemotional, surveying, checking for threats, the kind of look that seemed to be constantly sizing people up. Stoic, he had heard Izumi call it.

Alex looked back up at the man. He was wearing black pants and a tan shirt. She thought that this Mason guy was big, but this new man dwarfed him. And as intimidating as his apearence was, Alex didn't find herslef feeling any fear of him. Maybe they were just too much alike.

"Sig," he grunted, by way of introduction. The broom in his hand looked like a toothpick compared to his massive body.

"Alex," she said in the same way, and for a moment, they each stared eachother down. A silent agreement passed between them- they had no problems wtih eachother. As of now.

Sig was eclipsing her veiw completley of the Elrics, and as she thought this, she heard a female voice saying, "Well if it isn't my block headed arprentaces,"

Alex senced something going on, something that was leading to violence, but as she tried to move past Sig to see what was happening, he moved with her, again, and again, putting them both in a strange dance, untill she faked right and jumped left, moving past him just in time to see a woman in a long white buttoned deliver a painful looking kick to the guy, sending Ed flying backwards into the air.

She was their in an instant.

She slapped Ed on the back in a rough but effective way of stopping his flight, not stopping as she headed for the woman who had kicked him. She didn't know who this person was, but she had promised to protect, serve, and guard, and she would do that now.

Izumi Curtis had not expected to see her aprentaces any time soon. She had not expected to discover Ed had auto mail. She had not expected him to show up with a teenage girl at his side, and she defietly did not expect to see Edward show up with a brother in- (or, mabey, just maybey, _of?_) - armor, but she never **dreamed** that the young girl traveling with the Elrics would come at her. Instintivley she went from angry teacher to angry fighter.

The girl came and came fast with a shot to the face, a shot she slapped away easily, and returned. Was it Izumi's imagination that there were some unusually long canines in that snarl? The girl ducked it and swung a leg out, Izumi jumped over the leg that would've sent her to the dirt. The girl was back up in one lightening quick movement and sent a kick to Izumi's ribs that she had no choice but to step back from to avoid. That was a shock in itself, but a bigger one was that when Izumi sent a kick flying to the girl, she blocked it with a reinforced forearm, (a technique Izumi often used herself) and threw herself back into the fight.

The girl swung a fist- at first it seemed like she was aiming for Izumi's face- but then she went down, and the fist grazed Izumi's ribs, not hard enough to cuase any real pain, but hard enough to throw off her balance, and truely shock her. The girl had obviously expected the blow to land, becuase she akwardly stumbled to a stop and turned around, expecting a blow to come.

Izumi dropped her fighting pose, eyes wide with suprise, one hand on the rib where the girl had managed to strike. The girl, panting and glancing around, took in the scene around her.

Sig, Mason, and both the Elrics were staring at her in shock.From the the look on her face, it was clear she could'nt figure out why. Sensing the stillness around her, she slowly dropped her fists and stood up straight, legs shoulder width apart, a glare in her silvery gray eyes. Her posture was suspicouse and defensive.

"Oh. My. God," Mason said slowly.

"Alex," Alphonse began hesitantly."This is Izumi Curtis, our Teacher. Teacher, this is Alex Grey... a good friend of ours,"

Izumi turned that over in her head. A very good friend. It would seem this girl had a story, and after she heard whatever her idiot aprentaces done to themselves, she would hear it, and find out exactly what her relationship to the boys was.

"You handle yourseld well," complimented Izumi. "You must've had an excellent trainer,"

"I did, thank you. You're pretty bad ass yourself. I can see where the Elrics picked it up from,"

Izumi smiled. She was begining to like this girl.

"Sorry about earlier, Alex," Edward said, tossing his suitcase on the matress of the guest bedroom and pulling out clothes. "I should've warned you to expect some violence," He glanced over his shoulder- Alex was pretty scarce on verbal acknowledgments- to see her shrug. "I was kind of suprised you landed a hit on her, Teacher's pretty... well... invincable, you know?" She nodded.

Alex was leaning against the wall next to the door. A bruise was forming on her forearm where she had blocked Teachers kick. Ed felt a pang of guilt. In the month they had been togehter, she had been in her fare share of fights, due to the kind of lifestyle the Elrics lived, and while Alex never voiced any complaints or showed any wish to leave them, Ed always felt a pang of guilt whenever he saw her injured. Although he had noticed that she healed a lot faster than he did.

"So..." he began, a knot in his stomach. He grit his teeth, resolve firm, emotions aside. To distract himeself, he started piling his clothes, arranging them by what drawer he would put them in when he filled the dresser. The Curtis's were one the few places he didn't have to live out of a siute case and he intended to take advantage of that.

"You know how we were going to ask her about the stone?" He glanced over to see her nod.

"Teacher is really knowlegable, and... she may know something about the Hunters," He felt like a jerk bringing this up. He saw her eyes narrow ever so slightly. This was the equivlent to an indignant protest. They had had no attacks from Hunters as of yet, for which he was gratefull for, but whenever he or Al tried bringin them up, she changed the subject. Since so little seemed to make her uncomortable, pushing her to do the one thing that did made him feel like dirt.

"I really think we should ask her," Ed continued.Alex let out a sigh and in a weird, smooth movement Ed had never been able to master himself, lifted her wieght from the wall and walked over to the bed. Her footsteps we weirdly quiet on the floor, considering she still had boots on. She dropped herslef onto the edge of the bed and leaned in towards Ed, which considering he was currently holding a pair of boxers in his hand, made him a bit uncomfortable. If she noticed what was he was handeling, she made no sign of it.

"Edward," she said in a low voice. "Hunters are notorious for taking hostages. If we get her involved in this... she can handle her self but... " she swallowed, and shook her head, as if clearing her mind of the images she had drawn up. "I've seen them leak sleeping gas into a house then light it on fire. I've seen them strap parents to their bed as they murdered their children, holding their eyes open so they had to watch ever minute of it. They will do anything- _anything-_ just to get _information_ on someone who _might_ have had created someone like me," there was a haunted edge to her voice, a hollowness in her eyes. He had no doubt she had seen all this, and more. Not for the first time, he wondered what it was like to be her, live in her world.

"She wouldn't do anything to get herself in danger. I really think we should," Ed persisted, moving onto the next pile and folding soem shirts. She looked down at her lap. "If you think so," He wondered if it was his imagination- was there fear there? Or was it shame, surrender? He wished she weren't so damned hard to read.

"What's wrong, Alex?" he asked, putting down the shirt he was on. She didn't answer, and he placed a hand on hers. For some reason, physical contact, well, non-violent physical contact, always had a big effect one her. Hand on the shoulder, joking elbow to the ribs, he eyes always lit up for some reason. Maybe it was the contrast from all the other touches she got. A gentle touch on the hand after a life time of kicks to the ribs must throw a person off. She never seemed to pull away though, so he assumed it wasn't something she disliked.

"I..." she began, then paused, as if to think of a new way to word it. "I was hoping anywyas... that...she'd give me some training. You know, on her martial arts," Ed's eyebrows came up in suprise. "Knowing about that dangers you're in would only convince her to teach you, Alex,"

"Ya," she muttured, pushing her hand out from under his. "Or it'd convince her to kick me out of her house," Before Ed could tell her just how wrong she was, Teacher's voice came up from down the hall, calling them to dinner.

Ed locked eyes with her for a moment, trying to communicate what he didn't have time to say, before leaving the room. He knew without looking she'd be right behind him.

"The philosephers stone?" Izumi asked. Edward had asked the question rather suddenly. It was strange dinner conversation, if nothing else. "I was wondering if you knew anything about it," Ed added. "Why would you be researching a myth?" Both the Elrics answered in unison, "Intellectual curiosity!"

Izumi thought this was a little odd, but thought up an answer.

"We just thought you may know something about it," Edward added.

Izumi rubbed her chin in though.

"Now that I think about it," began Sig, and he found himself suddenly the center of attention. :Now that I think about it, on our last trip to central, there was an alchemist who knew a lot about the stone,"

"Oh ya, that guy! U.. I think..." she paused, trying to bring the name up. It came to her.

"He called himself Hohenheim,"

**Authors Note: the following people have either snet me messages, favorited, or reviewed my story. Wanna be on the honor roll? You know what to do.**

HONOR ROLL:

_**ANIME4EVERduh, Lavynya, xxxReadySteadyGoxxx, SweetBloodOfMine, yesterdaysmaybe, Lotte M.**_** and last but not least,**

_**Trinity Styles.**_

_**You go, guys!**_

_**-Lunahai**_


	7. Circles

ALEX

Alex noticed Ed tense next to her at the name. Hohenhiem. Al, usually harder to read, due to lack of expression, exclaimed, "What was he like!? Was he blonde, with glases and a beard?"

"So he's alive," muttured Ed under his breathe. "Do you know him?" asked Izumi. "He's.... our father," Al said darkly.

The gloom seemed to fill the air, but Izumi didn't seem to nitice it, she asked, eyes lit up, "The father that left you all those years ago? That's great, he may still be in Central and we can-"

"That Guy-" Ed inturrupted. "Is the last person I want to ask for help,"

Under the table, Alex dropped her hand on Ed's. As she was seated to his left, the hand she felt was real, warm, and clenched into a fist. It flexed tighter at her touch, then relaxed. His shoulders slouched, his jaw unclenched. She put her hand back onto her own lap and stole a glance at Ed from the corner of her eye, His gold eyes were glaring at the table top and his face was set in a grim expression.

She would've liked to comfort him, ease his mind, but how could she?  
She was trained that emotions were the stirrings of weaknesses and that whenever possible, she should bottle them, and only release them if it was usefull to her mission- killing and not being killed by Hunters.

And even if she was an emotional guru, if she had the maternal instincts and comforting abilities other women did, she couldnt empathize with him.

His father had just left.  
Hers had turned her into a mosnter, inside and out, and gotten killed.  
Ed had straight up resentment towards his father, she had a mixture of love, hate, betrayed and admiration of hers. What could she possibly do to help the Elrics outside of battle?

"Did he say anything about the Stone?" Al asked nervously.  
"He said his dream was about to come true," Izumi answered thoughtfully, "He seemed pretty happy about it..."

ED

He was unsure of how to continue the conversation after that, he wanted to bring up questions about Alex's problems, but he didn't want to do anything to threaten their trust. It may have not been terribly hard to earn, it had helped him immensly, and he truley did cherish it.

Then he saw her hands land on the table as she pushed herself up to stand.  
"Excuse me," she said in her usual soft spoken tone. "I'm not feeling well, I'm going to bed"  
Ed glanced up at her. Her face was infuriatingly hard to read, as usual, but he was starting to pick up on the signs, and she was most certainly not sick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALEX

Alex splashed water on her face from the sink and loked at her reflection in the mirror. She had told the poeple downstairs she was sick, and that wasn't a total lie. But she wasn't sick in the body. Her disfunction was rising up, and she wanted to be alone to think it through. Edward and Alphonse would be catching up with their friends, and they certainly didn't need a body gaurd for that. She never enjoyed leaving their side, but it was best for both sides if they got some alone time right now.

Wiping her face on a hanging towel, she walked back into her room- right next door to Ed's, much to everyones silent protest. Not suprising, young boy, young girl, hot blooded Amestrians....

It wasnt like that between them though. And should it be?

Romantic ties were just something to hang yourself with, Lex, her fathers ghost reminded her. And Ed was in away, her superior, and wouldn't a romantic relationship compromise that?

But this was a waste of thought. What was important to think about was how she could make herself be more usefull to the Elrics and, as usual, Hunters.

She took a deep breathe and let it back out.

The Hunters had been unusually quiet latley. They had either lost interest or lost track of her. Both were very unlikely, she knew she was at the top of her list. By their standards, she had been a very naughty girl, and she topped their To-Do list.  
Well, their To-Kill list anyways.

She raised her arm from the elbow down. Her forearm was covered in small scars, so faded you couldnt see them without looking, from many quick escapes into thorny bushes. Bringing her hand closer to her face, she looked at the many thin, white scars on her knuckes, from hitting teeth in a fight, breaking to blow of weapons, taking her frustrations out on walls....

She remembered on particular training excersise that had given her plenty of scars......

She hit the trunk of the tree with so much force that she dropped the bamboo training staff from the shock. She fell foreward to her knees, just in time to see the rod kicked from her grasp- she looked up- WHACK-a foot connected to her ribs and sent her rolling to the left. She smacked her elbow against the grass to stop her roll- on her back. Before she could move to jump to her feet, the bamboo swung down- WHACK- She raised her arms in front f her like a sheild, the rod smacked against her forears in a bone clattering crack. She cried out as the aftermath- white hot pain- caused dots to dance in front of her eyes. But the pain was also anger, and armed with it. she snatched the rod, jerked it back, then slammed it into the gut of her attacker- her father. He grunted and stepped back, just enough time for her to get off the ground, right before the staff crushed her shins and sent her back to her knees. She winced- waiting for whatever blow was to come--- and when she opened her eyes, the staff was on the grass in front of her.

"You've had better days," was all her father said, before he turned to leave.  
Easy for him to say, she had been training all day, where as this was the first physicalthing he'd dont all day.

and lets not forget that she had a weighted belt across her hips, ankles and shoulders. All together they weighed over 150 pounds, and she was supposed to be able to defend herself!?

SHe watched his back as he left. She was bruised, bleeding from the lips and from cuts on her knuckles, shaking with pain and exhaustion. Didn't he want to comfort her? Help her up at least? She looked down at her right fist. SHe had attempted to clock him in the face and ended up punching the staff. The actual knuckle was shattered but already reforming, inhuman healing coming into play. Her entire right fist was red with blood, and the scar would be one tht lasted. She gulped. Would anyone ever find her body, see that scar, and wonder how it came to be there?  
Would anyone ever care why she was there?

She snapped out of this memory. She had been young- 9 or 10- and still coming to grips with her existence. She was still clinging to ideas of normacly back then.  
And as it turned out, someone did care, if ever so slightly.  
She laughed at the childhood memory.

"What happened to your face?" Alex looked up from her badaged knuckles. A little boy- well, around her age, she supposed, but all the kids her age just acted so... differently, it was strange to consider herself their peers- was staring at a bruse across her cheek. "I got hit," she said. Her canine smelling was picking up apple juice and candy from the kid, he was so close that the sweetnes was sickening.

"Well ya, I figured, but by who?" he asked. He had wide green eyes and black hair.  
"My dad," she answered.  
"Was he mad at you?"

She thought about how to answer this. ".... he was mad afterwords. That I let him hit me"  
The kid processed this.

"Was it a game"  
".....Um. ya, I guess, I just dont win anyting. Ever. Even if I DO win"  
"Hm.... you have really long hair for a traveller. Doesnt it bother you?" She ran a hand through her now waist length hair. She would be cutting it back to its usual mid-back length style soon.  
"It does bother me sometimes.... butI like it long," she answered.  
"You're kind of strange.... do you live here"  
"I don't live anywhere, we travel," she answered. At all of seven, this seemed common practice for her, but everyone else found it so strange. The kid frowned, and she waited for him to decide that he had other places to be.  
"I wish you stayed here," the kid said.  
"WHy"  
He laughed as if it was obviouse.  
"Becuase then you could be my girlfreind, stupid!"

She longed for those childhood days, where life was easily explained, where people you've known for two minutes loved you. It was strikingly different then her life now. That boy had been named Jeremy, or something with a J.... and she had left that town that day. She had never thought of that day again untill now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THE.............

HONOR ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANIME4EVERduh, Lavynya, xxxReadySteadyGoxxx, SweetBloodOfMine, yesterdaysmaybe, Lotte M. and

Trinity -CoVeReD-RoSe, DemonRaily, KashmirObsessed, 


	8. Confrontation, Invitation

Edward wished Alex were here. Not for actual protection, but to alleviate the tension. Her presence, silent though it usually was, had an ability to do that he couldn't explain. He watched his Teacher's face. They had just told her- everything. Every little detail about them and what they had become, from the loss of their mother to the day Edward had joined the military. Whatever was coming next would'nt be pleasent, and Ed was both relieved she wouldn't see it and at the same time, wishing she would be.

She had left the meal abruptly, which wasn't actually so unusual for her. As undeniably loyal as she was, she did enjoy her 'me-time'. She was a loner by nature it seemed, and the Elrics tried to give her her space on the occasions when she sought it.

Izumi spoke.  
"Down the street, about three blocks down," she began with a sigh. "You'll find a coffin store- BUY TWO IN YOUR SIZES!" she growled, suddenly very, very dark and very very pissed. Ed and Al cringed as she cracked her knuckles.  
She sat back into her chair, and much calmer, said, "All jokes aside, I told you time and time again to stay away from human transmutation," She sighed again. "So the student makes the same mistake as the teacher"  
"Wait- you mean, you too?"

Izumi put a palm to her lower stomach. "They took some of my insides...," She glared at her students. "You guys really are the biggest fools"  
"We're sorry..."

A hail storm of meekly accepted insults followed as Izumi once again vented her frustrations.

"Morons"  
"Yes ma'am"  
"Numbskulls"  
"Your right"  
and even, "Runt"  
"Y-.....yes ma'am,"

She sighed again.  
"It must've been tough," she said gently. Ed looked down with guilt. "We... we brought it upon ourselves"  
Al added, "I guess we just got what we deserved,"

She chuckled. "You fools,"

She reached out, and placed a hand on the cold, empty metal that was Alphonse Elric, and pulled him into her arms. "You dont have to hold back,"

The tears that came afterwords, Edward was glad Alex didn't see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stop crying"  
The sharp command resounded through the empty forest.  
8 year old Alex sniffed.  
"I'm not," she lied, wiping her wet cheeks.  
She had just gotten a heavy kcik to the chest that sent her flying back, and slammed her into a tree trunk. She had slid down the rough bark and landed in the dirt in tears.  
"You're sloppy today, if a Hunter was here, you'd be gone"  
"You're right I would be," she muttured. "I wouldnt stay to fight, my ass'd be a mile away..."

Her father cocked an eyebrow. "Well, it seems you pick up on more than I realized. I do believe you just made a joke, and cussed in it. Growing up, arent we"  
She huffed. "No," she snapped. It was a loaded wuestion, she knew it. She just wasn't sure where the bullet was.  
"No"  
"Yes? I dont know! I'm aging"  
He laughed. "Kid, your eight going on twenty"  
She pushed herself up off the dirt.  
"And your fourty goung on twelve,"

The memory faded. Endless routines of mixed martial arts no longer held her interest long enough to go through.  
She wondered what was going on downstairs.  
She didn't want to spend the whole day in thought. She also wanted to get a little more knowledge on this Izumi woman. She swung her legs to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edward didn't see Alex behind the archway to the room they were in. He hadnt heard her descent of the stairs, or her walking towards them. What he had heard was his teachers words, "Your both expelled,"

"I didn't teach you alchemy so you could wind up with bodies like those"  
The words hit a nerve with Alex, something deep within her, and she clenched her fists.  
"B-but Teacher-!" Al cried, but Ed raised a hand, silencing him.

"The trains are still running. Go home," she ordered.  
Ed clenched his fist. He felt Alex brush his hand, a silent way of announcing her presence.  
"Thank you for everything," he said, head bowed, as his teacher left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was on the way to the train station that Alex gained the knowledge about Izumi she had sought.  
"When she was pregnant with her fist child, Izumi became deathly ill," Sig explained, as the huge man lead them to the station.  
"She fought hard and the doctors did their best, but the child didn't make it to term. She apoligzed all night, even though it wasnt her fault. I think that's when she became interested in human transmutation. You know the rest..."

They reached their serperation point.

"Come by again if you're ever in the area," Sig said. His voice didn't hold the sense of finiality Alex would've expected it to. A dime dropped in her mind. Suddenly, a whole string of thought became clear, and she realized that Edward was just a little bit moronic.  
She grabbed his thick blonde braid and yanked it hard.  
"Are you an idiot?" she snapped.  
She saw Sig smile.  
"What are you talking about!?" snapped Edward back.  
She grabbed his shoulders and spun him. "Now that you don't have to respect Izumi as a teacher, you can create a new relationship with her- as equals"  
For a moment Ed's face was blank. Then it dawned on him and he grimaced at his own stupidity. "Aw dammit! Al, come with me, Alex, be ready for some yelling!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Izumi was sharpening a blade, methodically, slowly. She ran water over the blade, cleaning it, and closed her eyes momentarily, wondering if she'd regret this night after all, when suddenly, the soor slammed open- "Teacher"  
The newly sharpened blade flew throgh the air and periced into the wall just above Ed's head. "What do you mean, 'teacher'!? I dont consider you scum my students! Scram!" she yelled.  
Ed shuddered from his near death experience and was glad he had told Alex to wait outside, she had a very low tolerance for people throwing knives, or any other sharp object, at him.

He and Al dropped to their knees in unision.

"Teacher, we came back here to find a way to get our original bodies back! We can't go empty handed!"

"Leave!"

"No!"

"Get out!"

"We're not leaving!"

~~~~

She glared at them. "You idiots," she snapped. She put her hands on her hips. So this was how it was gonna be.  
Good.

"Al, you never saw the Truth"  
"I have no idea what the Truth is," he said, honestly.

Alex grinned inwardly as she heard them go into discussion. About Al needing to get his meory back and then hopefully his body, which would be in the same place. Hopefully being they underlined, capatalized, super sized key word.

By the end of the night, the relationship, although renamed had returned, and the Elrics were being ordered around to help prepare dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEXT DAY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex jogged along behind the Elrics. They had retreated to a library, and lost track of time, and were now double timing to get back to the house before lunch.  
"Let's take a short cut," Al suggested. "If we dont hurry, Teacher's gonna get mad again," Ed said by way of agreement as he led them into an alley.  
That's when Alex smelled something... different.

"You there," a strange voice said. A hunched figure, cloacke din rags, approached them, bowl in hand. "Sapre some coin for a poor beggar?" he asked. Alex narrowed her eyes. She didn't trust something about this man.... his scent was.... oily was the first word that came to her mind. Greasy.

"Get a job!" snapped Ed irritably, as he continued. They were really frekain late....

"Oh dont be so cold hearted! Come now, young lady? How about you, in the armor? Surely as a state alchemist, you must be rolling in dough"  
Ed scoffed.  
"None of the alchemists I know have any money"  
"Oh no need to play dumb," the beggar said coyly.

"Your famous arent you sir... as the alchemist who transmuted his brothers soul"  
That stopped the trio in their tracks.  
"Your getting on my nerves," Ed growled.

The beggar smiled. "Am I right?" he asked. "The one in armor, has no body, correct? And the girl, which of the rumors are true- are you the alchemists henchman or his whore"  
It was an almost perfect unision that Edward and Alex's feet hit the beggars face.

He flew back and collided with the trashcans and Ed and Alex spun back around. "Let's go, Al," they said in coolm dignified voices, still in unision.

"You.. you broke my nose!" cried the beggar. "Don't treat me so bad jsut becuase I guessed the truth! And you could do a lot worse for a whore"  
The trashcan was the next thing to smahs into the mans face. Alex wiped her hands on her jeans. "Just dont know when to quit," she growled.

"Guessing by how angry you all are, I assume I must be right about at least one thing," the beggar said from the pile of trash. His nose was gishing blood."I'm right arent I? About the armor?"

Her hand went to the back of her belt, where a knife lay in a leather holster. She had taken to wearing it, after seeing the knices in the wall after they returned from the station. Also added to her outfit were a new pair of gloves, armored, black leatherand fingerless, a gift from Izumi toa fellow fighter. They had steel backing on the back of her palm. They were deadly looking, and fit her perfectly. They were shined almost enough to reflect. With her usual jeans, black tank top and boots, she was looking rather fearsome latley.

But Ed beat her to it, scraming to the man, "Why don't you just shut the hell up you-" Al put a restraining hand on his brother and leaned in on the man, saying in a grim tone, "Mister, just give it a rest already, okay?"

Alex saw something white and snaky trail from behind the man. Her eyes widened.  
He was a .  
They were both........

The tail snapped Al's helmet off- but Alex's reflexes were razor sharp, even though her shock, and she caugh it and dropped it into Al's hands before charging the chimera, knife out and slashing.

"Ha! I knew it!" he cried as he leaped back, pushing off with his tail to evade her blows.

Ed swung to kick at him, yelling, "What the hell!?" as he too saw tha tail. The lizard man leapt again, this time flying behind Alex, grabbing a fistfull of her hair and yanking, sending her to the ground with a grunt of pain and suprise, but she reacted and slashed deep into his thin wirsts.

Ed clapped his hands together somewhere out of her line of veiw, and as she put her knife free hand to the throbbing back of her head, a wall rose from the cobble stones, trapping the lizard man.

Or so they thought.

"Hey, cool!" he cried at the wall. "But lookey what I can do"  
and with no hesitation, he padded up the wall in a reptillian crawl. She perched atop the wall, and Alex saw he had a few strand of her black hair in his hand- a trophy.

SHe growled.

"Later chumps!" he laughed, and dissapeared.

"Dammit," Alex grolwed. "Dammit all to hell,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar was dark, smokey, and reeked of alchohol, just the way Greed liked it. Two beautifull women fawned over him, each of them surrounded by another beautifull womam. His feet clad in the best leather boots- were on the coffee table, and he knocked back another shot of whisley as Bido came backto the bar.

"Good job, Bido!" Greed said, setting the glass into the lap of a bimbo, who set it on the table. and refilled it.

"Whoda thunk that they'd come all the way out to Dublith. And they brought a girl, too? What a fun factor to the eqation,"

He held up the thin thread of jet black hair Bido had given him. It had the same quailty, the scent, feel if you would, of many of his henchmen. Oh ya, this girl was a little more than human.

"So whadya want us to do boss?" aksed Marta.

"Get em over here ASAP, preferably all of them but at the very least Alphonse. Rough em up a bit if you have to, but I want them ALIVE. Remember," Greed said with a grin, "They're our very special guests," 


	9. Departure, Capture

It was a calm day, just working out together, for the Elrics, Alex, and Izumi. The heat over the Elrics exuplsion had cooled, the tension eleviated. It was calm, untill Ed's face broke out into a horrified grimace.  
"What's wrong, throw your back out?" asked Al.  
"No- I totally forgot about this years assessment!" "Ack!" Al replied in a childlike 'Oh-no' that undermined his seven feet of spiked metalic intimidation.

"This years what?" asked Izumi. Alex explained. "It's a test for State Alchemists, to renew their liscence. They take them anually," "I completley zoned out about it..." Ed said, you could visably see the gears turining in his head as he mulled it over.  
"Great," said Izumi, picking up a phone and scanning which buttons to press, "you can take this oppertunity to stop being the military's dog. I'll just go ahead and let them know you wont be showing up"  
Alex smirked at Ed's expression as he mocked reaching for the phone, although he knew even she, with her distaste of the military, wouldn't actually call. Not for fear, but becuase how would she possibly have HQ's number?  
"I've been meaning to go to headquarters anyways," Ed said, setting down the weights he'd been using.  
Alex heard Izumi make a "feh!" sound under her breath as she hung up the phone.  
Alex started to gather things she knew he'd be brining along- gloves, some books, pants, things she knew were always in his suitcase. Her own duffel was still packed, and it was sitting next to the door.  
"What about your report?" asked Al. Alex knelt down and lifted the strap to her duffel over her shoulder and handed Ed his suitcase. They had booth stood by the time Al realised that this left him here, with Izumi. Alone.  
"Well, we're off," Ed said, pushing the door open. "Is he always in such a rush?" asked Izumi irritably. Al began whipping up excuses to go with them- and spewed the first one that came to him as fast as he could.  
"Well, you know Ed, someone should probably watch him, I mean, Alex will probably need help keeping him under contro-" "Oh no," Izumi said- too sweetly. "You're staying here, to spar with me,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Darn Edward and Alex... leaving me with Teacher.... and all the chores," Al comlained to himself.

He swept across the porch and wondered what they were doing right now. He looked over a s a crumpled peice of paper toppled onto his swept area.

"All right, who's the litter bug?" he muttured to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Think he'll come?" asked Marta, a little bored, to Loa, her large, hammer bearing comapnion, without a doubt the muslce of their group.

"I dunno. I wonder if he'll bring company," Loa replied, his mind wondering to Greeds eagerness to meet the person the Elrics associated themselves with.

Dorchet sniffed the air. "He's here,"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alphonse walked up the stairs with the confidecne of a martial artist in familiar territory, holding the note between his pointer and middle fingers.

A man dropped from behind him, landing in a crouch and bringing himself back up. It was probably meant to suprise him, but Alex often did the same thing, and he was used to it.

"We've been waiting for you," the man said.

A woman and an older man with a large hammar were also present, starig him down, " 'We know your secret, meet us at the abondoned factory at west side' " Alphonse quoted from the note. "Are you guys the ones that wrote this?"

"Ya, that's us," the man answered, "We know a lot about you," he said with a smirk.

"Good," Alphonse said calmly. "Becuase Id like to know a lot about myself, too,"

"Then lets get to the point," the older man said. "Come with us and you may find out what you want to know,"

"I'm not supposed to travel with strangers," Al said with child like innocence that cut through the tension in the air.

"How old are you, kid?" asked the younger man.  
"Fourteen..."

"Well fourteen year olds should be able to make their own decisions! So ignore whoever told you not to go with strangers and make your own decision!" he said in what he must've thought were encouraging tones.

"You're right!" Al said, as though an epiphany had dawned before hi.  
"Great! So come along with us no-" WHAP!

Al spun and kciked the man in the kneck, sending him to the ground like a bag of rocks.

"I'm deciding not to go with strangers,"

"So it comes down to force does it..." said the older man darkly. They drew their weapons....

Al charged..... they braced for it.....

and he sprinted right past them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marta and Loa stared blankly as the settling papers from the kids path.

"He ran away," she said in shock.

"Hm... yes," Loa said, smacking his fist onto his palm.

"Whadya mean, Hmm!? After him, Loa!!"

"Hm. Yes!"

They sprinted after him.

"There's no way someone whose never been here before could manuever there way though this place. He'll run into a dead end eventually and we'll nab him then, Peice of cake," Loa said, panting as he ran.

But time and time again, Alphonse ducked into just the right alley, just the right corner, and evaded them.

"I thought we had homefeild advantage!" yelled Marta angrily.

Unbeknownts to them, the grounds they were skipping through were once the Elrics favorite palce to pay hide and seek.

"Damn, is he ever gonna start running!?" snapped Marta.  
From above them they heard Dorchet's voice saying, "Hey, Marta, are you gonna let that lumbering Ox Loa slow you down much longer?"

"Well look who came to," taunted Marta.

"Let's go," Dorchet said, falling in nxt to the woman, both of them the fastest of the group. "We'll catch up and cut him off!"

They sprinted ahead of Loa.

At the same time, Alphonse sat cross legged, thinking of what his next plan of action should be. Should he set a trap for them? Itd be a lot easier if he could just transmute like Ed could...

Suddenly the pipe above him slices and snapped open, and the man he had kicked rained down on him, alreafy fighting. He swung his sword at Al, smacking him on the back with the dull side, which, although it didnt hurt Al, gave him the weird sense of vibrations through his metal body.

He aimed a kcik at the man, but he dodged it, and for a moment they circled.  
He puched the man, who obviously under-estimated his reach, becuase Al smashed his palm into the mans face- but not before the man placed the tip of his sword nder his helmet, and -fwap- sent it flying.

That's when things got weird. Really, really weird. The woman dove into his body.

"Stay still would you?" she scolded as Al struggled uselessly to remove her... it was just so weird!!

"Uaw!!! Oh this is soo gross! Get out get out! Even though I can't feel anything GET OUt!" He hurridly tried to peel his chest plate off, but heard some strange cracking noises... he couldn't move his arms!

"So how does it feel to have your body controlled from within?" she asked cooly.

"You can try to control me all you want, I'm still stronger than you!" Al snapped. He brought his arms in tto prove his points, it was hard, but he could do it.

"I dont need to control you completley," she grunted. "Just enough to slow you down,"

"You're going down, kid," said a deep voice behind him.

WHAAAM

Al was slammed into the ground, as well as his unwanted companion. If he'd had a face, defeat would've been all you could read on it. He had lost this battle.

But maybe not the war.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meamwhile, at the Curtis's house, Mason was the first to notice that Alphonse had yet to return.

"What do you think he's up to?" Izumi asked.

"You know, boss, I'm getting worried. Maybe he was.... kidnapped?" he asked grimly.  
Izumi considered this for a moment. Then they both burst out laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sorry about this," Marta said quietly, sitting cross leged in the dark confines of Al's chest cavity. "I got stuck with guard duty. I know if feels weird with me inside here, but you've just got to deal with it, okay?" She had gotten much nicer since they'd gotten to their destination, their base of operations. "It's all right, I'm already used to it. Just be carefull of the blood rune in there, it's the only thing keeping my soul attatched to this world,"

From inside his body, he heard an echoey responce, "You know, you're body's pretty neat,"

"You're pretty unique, too, arent you miss?"

She chuckled. "Do you know what a chimera is?" she asked. Al chuckled. "I've heard of em," he said, and grinned inwardly.

"My body is part snake," Marta continued, unaware of Al's comments. She seemed to be waiting for a reaction, but Al didn't give one. After all, he'd been living with a chimera for almost 2 months, and Alex had assured him that the man in the alley was one as well, so the shock value of meeting another was dulled, to say the least.

"If I may ask... how'd you get to be that way?"

"I was a soldier once," she began, her voice taking on a grim tone, "I was critically wounded in the souther border war, and the military dragged my half dead body to their labs and used it for their experiments,"

"That's horrible.." Al whispered. "I can't believe the military would do something like that..." Then again, Alex's own father did it to her. He wondered if Marta had ever had to deal with Hunters.

"I guess it was pretty calous," Dorchet agreed.

"The last thing I remember is my being blown in half by a grenade and when I woke up I was part snake," Marta added.

"Yeah, they didn't give a damn what we wanted," Dorchet said, lighting up his pipe. "To them, we were lab rats. And you don't even want to know what the failures looked like," From the hollowness of his voice, Al knew he was right. "We got a second chance at life, becuase we were survivors. If I they hadn't picked me, I'd be dead anyways. Human or chimera, I'm alive,"

Hadn't Alex said something along those lines? He couldn't remember exactly when, but he was sure she had....

"What animal did they combine you with?" Al asked.

"Just watch- he lifts his leg when he pees"  
"I Do Not!" snapped Dorchet indignatly.

No way, Al thought. "A dog?" he guessed.

Dorchet grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Al nodded. Ya. Pretty cool. Pretty familiar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

well we're moving right along in the story..... but what are ed and alex up to?

next chapter ;)

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	10. Visiting Hours

RECAP

"Yeah, they didn't give a damn what we wanted," Dorchet said, lighting up his pipe. "To them, we were lab rats. And you don't even want to know what the failures looked like," From the hollowness of his voice, Al knew he was right. "We got a second chance at life, becuase we were survivors. If I they hadn't picked me, I'd be dead anyways. Human or chimera, I'm alive,"

Hadn't Alex said something along those lines? He couldn't remember exactly when, but he was sure she had....

"What animal did they combine you with?" Al asked.

"Just watch- he lifts his leg when he pees!"

"I Do Not!" snapped Dorchet indignatly.

No way, Al thought. "A dog?" he guessed.

Dorchet grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Al nodded. Ya. Pretty cool. Pretty familiar.

END RECAP

AL's POV

"Everyone here has some reason that they can't exist in the 'normal' world," said Dorchet with a sense of conclusion. As he said it, the door behind him opened, and a group of people, clearly led by a man in black leather with spikey short hair, wearing sunglasses, sauntered into the room.

Alphonse recognized Loa in the group, but no one else.  
There was a man who seemed to be mumified in bandages and another that appeared to have artifical eyes.

"That him?" asked the leader with a nod towards where Al was sitting, hands chained on his lap.  
Someone nodded in confirmation.

With no time for small talk, the man lifted Al's head from his body, ignoring his protest, and said, "Cool, he really is empty on the inside!" He smacked the head back on, and said, "Nice to meet you, kid. The names Greed," He raised his hand to his chest as he said this, showing a tatoo on his left palm.

"That's the Ourroboros tatoo!" Al cried.

The man was unpreturbed. His glimpsed at his palm, "Oh, you know about these"  
"I met someone in Central city who had that mark," Al said, memories rising. Unpleasent ones.

"So you met one of the others, huh? Which one was it? Lazy ass sloth? Or that hag Lust? Oh well, I guess it dosn't really matter,"

"What are you, some kind of gang of 'bad guys'?" Al asked suspicously.

"I wouldn't call us bad, but we're definetly not good, either," Greed answered with frank honesty. "So... Al, is it?" he asked. He leaned in, right next to Al's face. Well, his helmet... "What's it feel like to be a soul, living in armour. A body that can never die?" he asked, voiced tainted with madness, but still oh-so cool and composed.

"Howd you know that about me?" Al demanded.

Greed chuckled. "Remember that killer you fought in Central? Well plenty of civillians and soldiers saw you that night kid. And even though the commanding officer placed a gag order on the incident, secrets have a way of spreading, and I got my sources,"

"Why did you bring me here?" Al asked darkly.

"Transmuting a persons sould and binding it to a physical object..." Greed began, looking up to the ceiling, as if in reverance, "If you can do it, you've pretty much got eternal life, am I right? I want it all kid. I want it ALL. Money, sex, power, fame! I want everything this world has to offer me, and eternal life tps thje list!" He jabbed a finger into Al's chest. "And that secret lies within you. And if you dont help me get it," his eyes narrowed behind his shades, "I'll cut you open and tear your soul apart to find it,"

Al was glad that Marta was no longer stretched out inside his body, and therefor couldnt feel his arms moving all this time. It would have ruined his plan of Greed had any warning. "What a shame," Al said, finishing up, "You are a bad guy after all"  
And he placed his chained hands on the transmutation circle and sent a cement fist driving up into Greeds chest.  
"Let your guard down," Al scolded, and began to remove the chains, when the last thing he expected happened. Greed dropped of the fist and brished the rubble from his chest, asking, "You were saying?"

ED's POV

"What was that?" Alex asked, dazed. She had been staring out the window, and apperantly hadn't heard him.  
Edward repeated himself, "I asked what you were thinking about,"

"Oh," she said. "Um... just stuff," Ed groaned mentally. Of course she wouldn't tell him, the woman never freakin talked. They'd been on the train for and hour and a half in almost toal silence.

"It's gonna be a long ride, we might as well make conversation," Ed said. He'd never minded Alex's silent nature, but now that he didn't have Al to entertain himself with, it was downright annoying.

"So talk," she answered without missing a beat. She was leaning against the window across from him, resting the ankle of her left leg on the knee of her right, leaning on her right elbow, left arm across her lap.

Ed sighed. "Tell me about yourself," he said stubbornly. He wanted to know more about her, dammit.

She shrugged. "I'm part dog. Your turn,"

Ed almost laughed. Almost.

"I'm an Alchemist, your turn,"

She shrugged again. "I guess that pretty much sums it up. Next question,"

So that's how she was gonna play it, eh?

"What'r your lucky numbers?"

"I'm pathologically unlucky," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Well then.... what's your favorite color? Or... wait are you color blind?"

She laughed, the first time he'd ever heard her do it.

"No, actually, I'm not. My favorite colors black. Or red. Both em of I guess,"

Ed grinned. Now they were getting somehwere!

"So.... favorite food?"

"Um... ramen I guess. I'm pretty easy to please,"

"I've noticed," Ed said, glancing at her duffel. Any teenage girl who had all her earlthy possesions in one bag was definetly easy to please.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why am I so interesting all the sudden?"

Ed felt himself blush a little.

"I'm just trying to get a conversation started," he said defensivly.

"Hm," was all she said. Damn chimera and her non-commital noises.

"You act like it's a new experience," Ed said, hoping to prod her into speaking again.

She shrugged. "It kind of is. I never considered myself that interesting, I guess. To where someone would engage a conversation, I mean. Most of my conversations in the past year involve death threats and end with death AND threats,"

Ed didn't know what to say to that.

"You're actually the first person to care about things like favorite food and stuff," she said in a quieter tone. Was she blushing?

Alex dropped her leg off her knee and swung it to the floor, then swung both legs up onto the bench and brought up her knees, resting her crossed arm on them and leaning her whole back against the wall and window. Staring at the wall across from her, she said, "So what are you planning for us?"

Ed almost choked. "Whadya mean?" he asked hurridly. She gave him a curious look.

"What. Are we. Gonna doooo. At southern?" she asked, slowly, as if he wouldnt be able to understand her.

"Oh... right of course. Um... nothing interesting," he said, trying to cover himself. Geez, Elric, he thought to himself. Get ahold of yourself...

AL's POV

All right, get ahold of yourelf, Alphonse.. he thought to himself. There's gotta be an explanation for this.......

His thought process was inturupted with Greed slamming him face first into the pavement- again, not actually pain, but the closest thing that he felt to it.

He also felt Marta slam againt the wall of his chest.

"Just relax all right," Greed said with a trace of irritability. His eyebrows shot up- "Oh, sorry, forgot you were inthere Marta, you all right?"

Al pushed himself up from the ground. If they could see the scowl he was projecting right now....

"Ha ha, you got spunk kid, I'll give you that," Greed commented. "But parlor tricks like that aint gonna cut it. If you want me dead, your gonna have to come at me like... this,"

And with the most sickening sound Al had ever heard, Loa smashed his hammer into Gree'ds skull, removing everything from the jaw up in a rain of blood and gore.

"What the he..." Al began... his shock stopped him from even forming asentence as Greed's body fell to the floor with a thunk.

"How could you do that!?! He was your'e- " Al exploded, but his protest was cut off by yet another unexplainable event; Greed rose. He threw the remnents of his head back... and regrew. Slowly, muscle, tissies, teeth, flesh, grew over his skull.

"Ah..." Greed moaned, and cracked his neck. "Now that's how you kill a guy," he said with aproval in his his voice, which was miraculously clear as a bell. "Be a little cleaner next time, eh Loa?" Greed scolded.

"Yes boss," Loa said quietly.

"Are you.... imortal?" Al asked in shock. How could he possibly want Al's secret when he could do that!?

"Even with this body, kid, I'm mortal," Greed said, kneeling in front of him. "You've heard of a homunculos right? A person thats not a person? An artifical being? Well that's what I am, kid. And I was made to last. I may look young, but I've been around for almost 200 years.

"I never thought it was possible...." Al said quietly. But look at Alex, he added silently, and even as he thought it, Greed said, "You never thought sucsesfull chimera were possible either, right? Look around you kid. Nothing is impossible,"

He put a hand on Al's head, and leaned in, "The fact you exist proves that, right? You, who have only a soul?" He put his hand down. "I've told you MY sectret. Now tell me yours. Tell me what they did to your soul,"

From inside of him, he heard Marta's voice, "I'd tell him if I were you. You dont want to be taken apart and studied like a lab animal do you?"

"I can't," Al said bluntly. "I don't remember how I got this body. Someone else performed the alchemy, honestly. I don't remember anything,"

"Well then all we gotta do is ask the guy who did the transmutation then," Greed said with a smile.

"Well that would be my big brother, but... he's gone," Al said.

Everyone's faces dropped all emotion. They all huddled together to whisper.  
Greed turned to face him.

"Sorry about your loss kid. We cool?" he asked casually.

Wow, Al thought. They all think your dead big bother.

ALEX's POV

Ed sneezed. "Do you have a cold?" asked the lady behind the counter.

"Maybe.. aw man," he moaned. Alex cocked a eyebrow. Human medicines didn't work on her but their sickness's sure as hell did. And she did not do sick well.

"Okay, take this packet to the office of technical evaluation. You missed the deadline, so it's gonna take a while to process the paper work,"

Ed groaned.

Alex followed, taking in the scene as Ed grumbled about being lost already.

South HQ was pretty much as she imagined- crisp, white, proffesional. A lot of busy looking uniformed people being busy. And uniformed. Ed turned a corner, and Alex saw his face become a portait of horror as he took in the veiw of a huge- like, HUGE, man in uniform, bald, save for one lock of hair, and a curly blonde mustache.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A booming laugh filled the elegant office.

"I'm so glad to see you're well," The man said. From what Alex had gathered, he was the Fuhrer of the Amestrian military. "I am honored to have been chosen to escort the president on his inspection of souther headquarters," the big man, Major Armstrong, Alex had heard him called.

"You're here for your assessment, aren't you?" he asked Ed.

"Ya, but I missed the deadline, so it's gonna take a while to process the documents," Ed admitted.

"Is that all?" asked the Furher. "Here, let me see the form," he said with a smile. Alex watched with some amusement as the man stamped the form with agolden seal, and anounced, "Assessment complete"  
Ed bowed to this and thanked the powerfull man. Alex kept a straight face, a display of her flawless self control, for lack of modesty. Had it been anywhere else, she would've enjoyed the show of modesty from a very proud boy, but hey, time and a place, right?

ED

"So, what I'm wondering is, who are you," the man said, nodding at Alex, "and why are you follwing my dear FullMetal?" Ed knew this was coming. His thoughts went back to the train ride. He knew this could go over really well, or really, really badly.

Well, I'm part dog, that about sums it up....

"It's MY honor to escort the FullMetal on his visit to southern headquarters," she said, in a suprisingly good impersonation of the Major. There were a few moments of tense silence, untill the Fuhrer burst out laughing.

"She's a keeper, Mr. Elric!" he said with a chuckle. "Really though, please, tell us about yourself," said the Fuhrer in a friendly voice.

"My name is Alex, and I'm currently imposing on the genorosity of Mr. Elric. I'm afraid theres not much more to tell," she said smoothly.

Ed was impressed by the how well she handled herself in front of the most important man in the country.  
Did she not know about all his power, or simply not care?

The Fuhrer chuckled. "Well then, I wont press you. So what brings you to the area, FullMetal?" asked the Fuhrer.

"Just visitng my alchemy teacher, actually. She lives in Dublith," Ed explained.

"Hm... if she taught you, she must be very skilled indeed.... perhaps we should try and get her interested in a state alchemist position,"

Ed shuddered. "You wouldnt be able to get her if you sent a whole army to fetch her,"

Ed didn't see the look of interest on the Fuhrers face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I dont like him,"

Ed looked over his shoulder. Alex was leaning against a the stone pillar of the train station's wall, arms crossed under her chest, staring at him. In the bustle of the train station, he had only just heard her.

"Like who?" he asked, stepping closer to her. Experience had taught him that if she's talking, he should listen close.

"The Fuhrer," There was no tone to her voice, no emotion on her face that would give a further explanation.

"Why? He didn't do anything rude,"

She shrugged. "Something about him.... I don't trust it. He... seems stange to me. That's all,"

And she didn't mention it again. But for some reason, it bothered him. Was this a 'womans intuition' kinda thing? He smiled to himself.  
He'd heard somewhere that a dog was the best judge of charactor you could find.

She looked over her shoulder suddenly.

"What?" he asked.

She slowly looked back. "I thought... never mind," she muttured.

Ed reached into his pocket for the train tickets. Their ride should be here soon...

She jerked her head back over her shoulder again, and Ed could've sworn he heard a slight growl.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a little rudely.

"I just.... I might be being paranoid, but..." she began. She huffed. "I swear those military guys are folling us," she finished in exasperation.

Ed laughed. "I think you might be being a little paranoid, I mean, we're not your run of the mill people, for sure, but we're not so interesting is to be having the Fuhere himself follow us home,"

Alex took one last suspicous glance over her shoulder, scanning the crowd. Ed felt a little guilty mocking the instincts that probably saved her life more than a few times against the Hunters, but come on, really?

No way the Fuhrer was gonna spy on him. Right?

"I've found a lead, boss," Mason said as he entered the room. Izumi sat at her desk, a scowl on her face. "Someone saw Al going into a factory at West side," he said.

"And after that?" she questioned.

"Someone saw some guys carrying a big suit of armor into a bar called the Devils Nest," as he said this, he dug a match book from said bar out of his pocket and tossed it to Izumi, who caught it mid arch. "The Devils nest, eh?" she mumbled to herslef, studying the matchbook. "Let's pay them a visit,"

.

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	11. Blades Collide

IM SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am aware I havent updated in like.... a year. I am sorry!!!

My laptop died, I got a job and a new position in ROTC that takes up all my time. IM SORRY!!!!!!!!!

So... heres the next chapter

SORRRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Someone saw some guys carrying a big suit of armor into a bar called the Devils Nest," as he said this, he dug a match book from said bar out of his pocket and tossed it to Izumi, who caught it mid arch. "The Devils nest, eh?" she mumbled to herself, studying the matchbook. "Let's pay them a visit,"

The first thing Alex noticed about Izumi was the bandage on her hand. As she explained what had happened over the time they had gone to report to Central, Edward tensed more and more. She had a cold feeling in her gut. There were many things Edward Elric would turn a blind eye to. Messing with his little brother or his teacher were not some of them.

The last command Izumi gave after her explanation was to be home in time for dinner.

Alex followed Edward outside as he stared at the little hand drawn map Izumi had given him. Once the door had closed behind him, he stopped.

Silence was kind of her style, but she didn't like this one. "Wonder what's for dinner?" she asked softly.

Edward gave a small smile. Then crushed the map in his hand. Now it was time to go to war.

Alphonse wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just sitting back and letting time pass in the only way you can while chained up in a room full of not-human abductors.

Then the door snapped open, and Edward and Alex, flanked by two of Greed's henchmen.

Edward had a dangerous calm about him, a trait he seemed to be mimicking from Alex.

Alex had the usual impossible to read expression on. Becuase of the angle they had walked in at, Alphonse could see the knife she kept horizontally at the small of her back on her belt. There was something silver in the sheath, he could see it sticking out behind the hilt of the knife. He didn't hae the time to look at it.

"Are you Greed?" Edward asked.

"And you must be Edward Elric right? Sorry to drag ya down here man. Would have been easier if all we needed was the kid in the armor," Greed said in a casual, friendly way, out of place in the situation.

"Be careful, Brother, this guy's a-" Alphonse started to warn, "Homunculus, right?" Edward finished.

"Thats a pretty bold claim. Are you for real?"

"I make it a matter of principal never to lie," Greed said calmly. "I can prove it to you... no, on second thought, I don't think so,"

"Edward, he says he'll show you how to make a homunculus if you show him how you transmuted my soul," Alphonse said from the floor.

"An equivalent exchange, huh?" Ed asked.

"I hear you guys are interested in making bodies," Greed said with a wicked smile.

Then... an explosion.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! YOU CREEPS KIDNAPPED MY LITTLE BROTHER AND HURT MY TEACHER! I'LL NEVER MAKE ANY DEALS WITH YOU!!!! IF I WANT YOUR SECRETS, I'LL FORCE YOU TO TELL ME!" he paused to take a breath, "I'LL NEVER MAKE A DEAL WITH YOU!"

Greed couldn't help but give a tiny applause to the outburst.

Dorchet, on the other hand, disagreed.

He began to draw his sword. "..This guys an idiot," he muttered, stepping into an offensive position.

"Don't kill him," Greed ordered.

"Ya, ya," Dorchet muttered. "But it'll be my pleasure to break a few bones,"

Edward didn't look phased at all. Clearly, he expected what happened next.

Alex stepped in front of him.

"It's bad maners to send your girlfriend to fight for you, little man," Greed chided.

"You're not the only one with an attack dog," Alex growled. Dorchet sniffed the air, and narrowed his eyes. They shared a look of realization no one else caught.

"He's not going to hold back because she's a dame, kid," Greed warned.

"I was gonna tell you the same thing,"

Alex reached behind her and pulled the knife on her belt out of it's sheath. She had slid a small silver throwing knife next to it, so she was duel wielding.

She took her fighting position with Dorchet, he katana at the ready, both her blades in the dagger position. [hilt up, blade pointed to the floor]

"You really think those things are gonna help you?" Dorchet sneered.

"Just try not to drop your pig sticker," she snapped back.

Dorchet charged forward and swung his blade at her waist. She jumped back to avoid it. The attacks happened in seconds, their movements fluid and graceful. He swung downard this time, and she crossed the knives to catch his blade. The metals struck with a loud _CLANG. _They glared at eachother, gritting their teeth. Each a dog fighting for their respective masters.

For a few heart pounding seconds, they stayed that way, in a power struggle, until Dorchet retrected his blade and jabbed forward. She slammed the blade of the katana down with the hilt of her knife, _stepped onto it, and lept forward, _and flipped in the air to land behind Dorchet! She went to bring her knife down but he twisted out of the way, cricled behind her, and tried to attack from behind.

She dodged and turned on her heel to face him again.

Again he brought the blade down, but this time Alex deflected it with the crossed knives and jerked hard to the right, sending Dorchets arms, still clenched onto the katanas hilt, to the right as well.

His chest left unguarded, she took the oppertunity and vicously kicked him _hard _in the chest.

She moved in. She grabbed the collar of his tunic with her left hand and jerked him forward, guiding his face into an assult from her right elbow. WIth the spinning momentum from that move, she round-house kicked him- and as her heel conected with his temple, the fight was over.

Dorchet fell to the ground. Alex had won.

Panting, she glared up at Greed silently. "Next," she said in a low voice.

"Loa," Greed said. A huge massive man moved foreward, Alex did not want to spend any quality time with that hammer- but Greed orderedm "Take the armored boy to the lab. We're going to rip him apart for analasys. Take Dorchet to get patched up, too,"

"What?!" Edward and Alphonse cried at once. A female voice protested, "Hey, I'm still in here!" from within Alphonse.

Alex charged forward, but as she tried to pass Greed, he reached out, and a massive hand clenched around her neck. Instantly, she couldnt breathe. With strength she would have never expected from him, he dragged her backwards and lifted her up off the ground.

She grimaced, trying to strain breath into her constricted throat. She brought the knife in her right hand down hard- it bounched off his skin. She heard Edward curse at Greed and charge him, but it was getting hard to focus....

"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked with a smile. And he threw her like a rag doll. She gasped for air as the world blurred around her as she flew backwards, and slammed into the ground, knocking the hard won breathe out of her-but the flight wasnt over. She hadn't landed, she had _bounced_. Her momentum kept her moving, and this time she landed against Edward.

"You Bastard!" he shouted. He clapped and transmuted spikes, which Greed easily dodged. He transmuted his arm into the blade and ran forward as Alex regained her breath.

"Go after Al!" Ed ordered over his shoulder.

"But-"

"GO!"

She ran.

The military forced stormed into the building, and shot to kill. Chimeras fell under a lead storm and the troops surged forward. By the time Alex caught up with the group, and new stand off had come up- the chimera Loa vs Major Armstrong.

Alex's attention turned suddenly to a movement in the shadows. "Dorchet!"

But it was too late. A long narrow blade shot forward through his gut. The Fuhrer King Bradley stepped forward, "What's going on here, Major Armstrong?" he questioned.

With two easy strokes, he ended Loa. "My orders were to kill everyone except the specified targets, Major. Stop showing mercy to the enemy," His gaze fell on Alex. Her heart pounded. She couldnt speak. He slowly raised his sword. "Sir. That's Alex Grey! She's a companion of the Elircs! If she's here, Edward is somewhere near by," Major Armstrong exclaimed.

The fear was gone instantly. The King turned and left silently.

When she was alone, she knelt next to Dorchet and checked for a pulse. It was so faint it couldve been her imagination.

"An inch to the left, it wouldnt be there at all," he said through a grimace. She put pressure on the wound. If she could keep enough blood in his system, maybe he could make it.

"Why'd you warn me?"

"It doesnt always have to be a dog eat dog world," she answered.

She placed his hands where hers were, and stood up, "See ya around,"

He smiled as her heard her footsteps echo down the hall. Who'd have thought he had a brother- no, sister in arms?

She got to Al in time to see the Furher stabbing a sword through Al's armor.

"NO!" She left at the Furher and slashed. She had aimed to slit his throught but he backed up and got only a slice on chin. He was lightening quick. He slashed at her, but she dulled the blow with her knife. Instead of being cut in half, she got a broken rib. The next thing she saw was the hilt of his sword as he slammed it into her temple. She fell down into the disgusting water that lined the passageways. As her world became black, she felt the blade of his sword slice into the skin of her shoulder blade. "I'll kill you next time, little girl," she heard him say. Then she passed out.

Images flashed,, bones blood light light Brothers face, reaching hands reaching reaching for him, he's falling apart, now its him , its Alphonse, reaching for him.. his soul... his body...

"AL!"

He snapped back to the real world. The scene before him was gruesome. Draped bodies lay scattered across the floor. Brother was beaten up and bandaged, kneeling in front of him. Alex had blood dripping down her right shoulder and was dripping wet. She was on one knee next to Ed. Major Armstrong knelt behind them both.

"We opened you up to...pull her out," he said solemnly.

Guilt washed over him. "I...I couldnt help her,"

Ed smiled and put a hand on Als shoulder. "It's not your fault, Al. Let's go home,"

"Hold it you three," an authoritive voice said. "I have questions, first,"

King Bradley walked up to the group. "Did you make any deals with them, FullMetal? Tell them anything?"

"They didn't ask me about any military affairs," he answered. King Bradley glared.

"Thats not what I asked you," he growled. "If you shared any of your expertise with them, I'll excecute all three of you right now. As the girl over there found out earlier,"

Alex glared.

"So, I ask again. Did you tell them anything that would cause problems for the military?"

"Of course ." Edward said in a steely voice.

"Good. Go home. Take care of yourselves," the King said, suddenly cheerful. They didnt need to be told twice.


End file.
